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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

VANCE EDWARD JOHNSON,

Plaintiff, No. CIV S-04-0776 LKK EFB P 

vs.

D.L. RUNNELS, et al., 

ORDER DIRECTING THE FILING OF

Defendants. PRETRIAL STATEMENTS

 /

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42

U.S.C. § 1983. The parties shall file pretrial statements in accordance with Local Rule 281 and

this order. Plaintiff is hereby advised that failure to comply with the procedures set forth below

may result in the preclusion of any and all witnesses named in his pretrial statement. 

At trial, plaintiff must be prepared to introduce evidence to prove each of the alleged

facts in support of his claims. Trial evidence generally takes the form of: (a) exhibits; and (b)

witness testimony. It is plaintiff’s responsibility to produce all of the evidence to prove his case,

whether that evidence is in the form of exhibits or witness testimony. If plaintiff wants to call

witnesses to testify, he must follow certain procedures to ensure that the witnesses will be at the

trial and available to testify.

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The following procedures apply for calling witnesses: 

I. Obtaining Attendance of an Incarcerated Witness Who Intends to Testify

Voluntarily

A witness who is willing to testify without the compulsion of a subpoena, but who is

imprisoned or incarcerated, cannot appear to testify without a court order directing the custodian

to produce him at the time of trial. The court will issue such an order only upon a showing that

the witness has agreed to testify voluntarily and has actual knowledge of relevant facts.

Therefore, a party intending to introduce testimony from such a witness must file with his

pretrial statement a motion for an order directing the witness’s custodian to produce the witness

for trial. The motion must:

1. Identify the witness by name, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

number, and address;

2. Include affidavits showing that the witness intends to testify voluntarily. This

intention can be shown as follows: 

A. The party can swear by affidavit that the witness has communicated to him an

intention to testify voluntarily. The affidavit must include a statement of when and where the

prospective witness informed the party of this willingness; or

B. The witness can swear by affidavit that he is willing to testify without the

compulsion of subpoena. . 

3. Include affidavits showing each witness has actual knowledge of relevant facts. The

witness’s knowledge can be shown as follows:

A. The party can swear that he knows the witness saw or heard relevant facts. 

For example, if something occurred in plaintiff’s cell and plaintiff saw that a cell-mate was

present and observed the incident, then plaintiff may swear to the cell-mate’s ability to testify;

or,

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B. The witness can swear to the relevant facts he observed. 

Any such affidavit must describe the incident, state when it occurred, where it occurred,

who was present, and how the witness was in a position to see or to hear what occurred. 

The court will review and rule on the motion for attendance of incarcerated witnesses,

specifying which prospective witnesses must be brought to court. Subsequently, the court will

issue the order necessary to cause the witness' custodian to bring the witness to court.

II. Obtaining Attendance of an Incarcerated Witness Who Refuses to Testify

Voluntarily

If a party seeks to present testimony of an imprisoned or incarcerated witness who does

not intend to testify voluntarily, the party must with his pretrial statement file a motion for an

order directing that witness to appear. Such a motion must comply with the requirements

explained above but the movant must demonstrate that any such witness does not intend to

testify voluntarily.

III. Obtaining Attendance of an Unincarcerated Witness Who Agrees to Testify

Voluntarily

A party need not obtain an order to produce an unincarcerated witness who intends to

testify voluntarily. However, the party is responsible for ensuring attendance of such a witness. 

IV. Obtaining Attendance of Unincarcerated Witnesses Who Refuse to Testify

Voluntarily

To obtain the presence of a witness who is at liberty and who refuses to testify

voluntarily, the party who intends to present that witness’s testimony, and who proceeds in

forma pauperis, must complete a subpoena and submit it to the court. Blank subpoena forms

may be obtained from the Clerk of the Court. Completed subpoenas must be submitted not

earlier than four weeks and not later than two weeks before trial. Along with a completed

subpoena, the party must also tender a money order payable to the witness in the amount of the

daily witness fee, $40.00, plus the witness’s travel expenses. The court will not order the

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United States Marshal to serve a subpoena upon an unincarcerated witness without the witness

fee and travel expenses having been tendered. No statute authorizes the use of public funds for

expenses in civil cases and so even a plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis must tender such

fees. Upon receipt of a completed subpoena and money order, the court will then forward those

materials to the United States Marshal for service upon the witness. 

In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Within thirty days of the date of this order, plaintiff shall file and serve a pretrial

statement and any motions necessary to obtain the attendance of witnesses at trial. Plaintiff is

advised that failure to file a pretrial statement in accordance with this order may result in the

imposition of sanctions, including dismissal of this action.

2. Defendants shall file a pretrial statement not later than thirty days after the filing of

plaintiff’s statement. 

3. Pretrial conference (as described in Local Rule 282) will be conducted on the file

only, without appearance by either party.

4. The date for jury trial before the assigned district judge will be set in the pretrial

order.

DATED: March 12, 2012.

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